Chuck Sweeny: State’s lottery agency not so lucky after all

Saturday

Jun 28, 2014 at 11:00 AMJun 28, 2014 at 6:28 PM

Surprise! The state’s semi-privatized lottery isn’t doing what it promised. I say semi-private because nothing in Illinois escapes the meddling of government officials trying to justify their existence, from trying to stop a 12-year-old girl from selling cupcakes, to pestering corporations so much they want to leave the state.

The lottery, a 40-year shakedown of poor people run by the state of Illinois, was contracted out to winning bidder Northstar four years ago. The company promised to substantially increase sales, and to pay $1 billion to the state in the fifth year of its 10 -year contract. Now it wants to be released from $900 million of that commitment. The company is also $200 million short of the amount it owes the state. The company has complained that politicians have stopped it from offering certain games and from hosting a concert featuring the rapper R. Kelly.

What happened here? First, it seems that Northstar made overly ambitious promises of what it could do. State leaders believed the firm, but maybe they should have asked more questions.

Second, I think the state’s lousy economy is causing people to re-think whether to buy lottery tickets. At the gas station I frequent, I’ve noticed fewer people holding up the line buying 15 to 20 lottery tickets, which used to be common. Often they don’t buy any tickets or just one.

That’s because they’re paying nearly $4 a gallon for gas. Also, many are out of jobs. Or maybe the unofficial motto of Las Vegas is beginning to capture the imaginations of Illinoisans: “The House always wins.”

I don’t care if people gamble and I’m not a moralist who wants to make it illegal. People have free will.